Chick-fil-a manager arrested after allegedly taking over $9,000 from the restaurant

An employee of the Palm Coast Chick-fil-a, located at 1000 Palm Coast Parkway NW, was arrested after he allegedly stole $9,997.20 from the business, according to a charging affidavit from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

Austin Lee Eastmoore, 25, allegedly generated large refunds during shifts at work. As a manager, Eastmoore, who worked at the restaurant for nearly 1 1/2 years, was able to generate refunds without needing authorization from a superior.

The theft was brought to FCSO attention because another manager reported not being able to close out the daily sales due to discrepancies in the change fund.

Corresponding video surveillance shows Eastmoore generating refunds, mostly for large party chicken tender platters, and never actually giving the money back to a customer for the refund. The video shows Eastmoore generating refunds and then throwing the receipts out, which is not company policy. In other instances, the video shows Eastmoore removing cash from the till, walking to the nearby safe and putting the cash in his pocket.

Eastmoore was taken to the Flagler County Detention Facility on March 3 and was charged with grand theft of over $5,000.